Fly infestation in P. lateralis roach colony - how to get rid of them?

[Lalo Cura]

I couldn't get my red runners to breed for a long time because I kept it almost completely dry, with no substrate and only egg cartons, feeding them only dry food and occasionally putting in one or two fresh vegetables for moisture. Someone told me they need moist substrate and more fresh vegetables, so I changed my setup to have moist coco fiber and started feeding them mostly carrots. It seemed to work really well as the population grew a lot more. However, the other day I started to notice some flies buzzing around in there and with further investigation discovered lots of fly pupae and maggots. I removed all the egg cartons and vegetable remnants and replaced them with fresh ones, because that's where all the pupae seemed to be, and removed all the fly pupae I could find. However, today there are even more adult flies in there so they must still be breeding in there somehow.

What should I do? How bad is this? Can these flies hurt the roaches, or worse my tarantulas? Do I need to destroy the colony to prevent them from infesting further?

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Depends if there phorid flies those are nearly impossible to get rid of, fruit flies are a lot easier they live in frass. And fly traps work well. But I can’t seem to trap the flies I got now with diy traps …

 

[BoyFromLA]

Someone told me

so I changed my setup to have moist coco fiber and started feeding them mostly carrots.

What should I do?

You have your answer within. Change it back to as it was.

 

[Smotzer]

Well knowing what type of fly you are dealing with makes a big difference. If it’s fungus gnats you might wanna try sone mosquito buts/dunks

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I removed my dubia frass then didn’t sift it yet, the fruit flies are getting eaten by celler spiders haha tons for them.

Well knowing what type of fly you are dealing with makes a big difference. If it’s fungus gnats you might wanna try sone mosquito buts/dunks

yep identify the fly .

You have your answer within. Change it back to as it was.

sometimes the basics work the best aka op old set up.

 

[BoyFromLA]

couldn't get my red runners to breed for a long time because I kept it almost completely dry, with no substrate and only egg cartons, feeding them only dry food and occasionally putting in one or two fresh vegetables for moisture.

This is exactly how I keep mine, and have no problem breeding.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

This is exactly how I keep mine, and have no problem breeding.

I don’t have reds , but I keep my dubia, oranges the same way. Basic no substrate.. cartons, etc
The oranges kept dying with coco fiber sub. They weren’t very smart ..

 

[Lalo Cura]

This is exactly how I keep mine, and have no problem breeding.

OK, I will get rid of the substrate and go back to how I was doing it before. The only issue is that I kept finding dried up egg cases and there were no roaches small enough to feed my spiderlings, so they clearly weren't reproducing. I am not sure what I was doing wrong if keeping them dry was working for you.

Well knowing what type of fly you are dealing with makes a big difference. If it’s fungus gnats you might wanna try sone mosquito buts/dunks

How do I identify the type of fly?

 

[BoyFromLA]

The only issue is that I kept finding dried up egg cases and there were no roaches small enough to feed my spiderlings

If that’s the case, then separate the eggs when you see it, and store somewhere a bit moist. To see if it hatches.

It is always case by cases, you need to test, experiment how might be suitable for you.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

If that’s the case, then separate the eggs when you see it, and store somewhere a bit moist. To see if it hatches.

It is always case by cases, you need to test, experiment how might be suitable for you.

I don’t keep them but I see this problem pretty often … people saying the eggs are drying out.
something I don’t have to worry about with my dubia roaches.

 

[Lalo Cura]

OK, I transferred the whole colony into a new bin with some fresh egg cartons and no substrate.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

OK, I transferred the whole colony into a new bin with some fresh egg cartons and no substrate.

Looks good , how high can they jump? I heard someone say They jump.

 

[Lalo Cura]

Looks good , how high can they jump? I heard someone say They jump.

I've had them jump off my hands after picking them up but they definitely aren't capable of jumping substantial distances like crickets are.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I've had them jump off my hands after picking them up but they definitely aren't capable of jumping substantial distances like crickets are.

Yeah I was going to get some but my t collection is too small. I’m already swamped with dubia ..
Back when i had 45+ I could keep roaches under control Better.

 

[l4nsky]

OK, I transferred the whole colony into a new bin with some fresh egg cartons and no substrate.

The cardboard needs to be vertical, not horizontal. If kept horizontal, they will accumulate roach feces and need to be replaced way more often. Keeping them vertical reduces the amount they accumulate.

IME, lateralis breed best under high heat, high RH, but overall dry conditions. I keep my colony bare bottom, heat them with a thermostat controlled heatmat, only feed dry foods which are always available, and I provide them with a large bowl of water crystals for hydration and to boost the RH in the tote.

Keeping them bare bottom also allows you to easily recover ootheca and setup a hatchery with more optimal conditions for hatching. It also means you'll have a steady supply of nymphs available that are already separated from the main colony.